National Park Service to use Monterey Bay Aquarium's seafood guide

The National Park Service will use the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program to guide purchasing decisions for more than 250 culinary operations in 75 national parks nationwide, the aquarium announced Friday.

The sustainable food guidelines were released last week at a tasting event on the National Mall in Washington as part of a "Healthy Parks, Healthy People" initiative that requires food service operators to begin offering healthy food options and to incorporate more sustainably-sourced ingredients from land and sea.

The new guidelines specify that, "Where seafood options are offered, provide only those that are 'Best Choices' or 'Good Alternatives' on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, or identified by an equivalent program that has been approved by the NPS."

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis and White House Senior Policy Adviser on Nutrition Sam Kass released the healthy food standards and sustainability guidelines as chefs from four major concessionaires offered tastes of new menu items.